a few months back my grandmother asked me if i was interested in an old truck she had as she was moving and had nowhere for it to go. it belonged to her husband who had passed away in 2021. I went to go look at the truck and it was a 1987 Toyota Pickup EFI Turbo. I know these trucks are quite rare and known to be indestructible so i was interested. I wasn’t in a position financially to purchase such a vehicle but she insisted that i name my price for it, so i gave her $200 for it.
Getting into the problems, i was told that it was in a front end collision with a large pine tree. the driver side fender is badly dented and rusted, but i don’t mind. the driver side tire had a large gash in it, somehow it was holding air, it has since been replaced.
The cold start injector was leaking fuel, and covered in some kind of cement, im guessing it was an attempt to stop the leak. i removed all the cement and replaced the injector.
after replacing the injector i decided to try starting it. after a lot of starter fluid and a jump it hesitantly started up. i was able to rev it through the entire rpm range and keep it alive, but whenever i let off the gas it died.
I replaced the battery and the problem was persisting. i replaced the fuel filter and it seemed much happier, and it was idling on its own, but it was still quite difficult to start it. i got new spark plugs and as i was replacing them, the old connections on plugs 2 and 4 broke off, so i replaced all the wires aswell.
this is where things get weird. i tried starting it again after replacing the plugs and wires and it really didn’t want to start. after a lot of time and starter fluid, i finally got the engine running, but it was back to dying without throttle. if i give it too much gas the engine bogs out and dies immediately, and it will only rev up to 2k then it acts like it’s hitting a limiter. i felt like i was making progress on it but now it seems like i’m back where i started. i’m only a self taught mechanic so i’m starting to feel a little in over my head. any input would help. i’ll include a video of it idling before spark plugs and another one of what it’s doing now. I’ve triple checked all the spark plug connections. I’ve had a couple people tel me it might be the fuel pump so i might try that, but again i’m open to everybodies input.

 

You got a smokin deal for that truck even if you part it out.

These are MY opinions based on my experience owning many Toyota trucks. Other's may disagree or hopefully add their opinion.

Get a manual. Preferably a factory manual. Available used or maybe free download.

The best plug wires to get are OEM Toyota or the NGK ones. They don't seem to run well on generic parts store brands.

Use NGK or Denso plugs

Use OEM or Denso cap and rotor

Same for O2 sensors or TPS and AFM.

Some stuff is no longer available so get what you can and check reviews.

If the gas is old replace the fuel.

The fuel tank is probably rusty or gunked up so you should drop the tank and look. The pump has a screen that is probably bad/ or plugged. Flush out the fuel lines. Including the vent line.

If it has a Check Engine Light (CEL) Count the flashes to get the code.

Sounds like the fuel system needs a good refreshing to start with.

Good luck with it!

 

With the turbo nothing wrong with the auto... they're great transmissions

 

Sounds like lack of fuel. Either a pump going out or clogged screen in the tank. Could be bad fuel.

 

Thanks to everyone for their replies, since my last post i’ve done the following,
replaced fuel pump and strainer
replaced starter and battery cables as trying to start it has been a pain.
and to address a few questions, i used NGK plugs and Denso wires. i try to get all my parts from NAPA as they tend to have quality stuff in my experience.
Since replacing the fuel pump i cannot get it to start and stay running. it fires up for a second or two, and dies immediately. i did get it to start and rev up to about 5k, but it backfired and threw a bunch of white smoke from the EFI/ fuel injector area so i shut it off right away. i feel like i’ve already gone through the whole fuel system and i don’t know what else could be causing this, so today i’m going to switch focus and mess with the AFM a bit. if anyone has any more advice it would be appreciated, and all your input so far has been very helpful.

 

Get a Factory Service Manual. Probably a download available.

The fuel pump turns on for a short time to start and then the AFM keeps it running. There's a diagnostic connector on the engine where you can jumper out two terminals to run the fuel pump. B+ and FP terminals. If you can't get a manual there are probably youtube videos of how to trouble shoot various conditions.

You definitely need to make sure all vacuum hoses are hooked up, not cracked, no vacuum leaks, etc. Probably need injector seals. Maybe service or replace your injectors. They could be gunked up. The fuel filter is a bitch to get to. Bolted to the side of the block under the intake.

 

Thanks for your input, i did replace the fuel filter already, don’t know if i mentioned that or not. i’ll try jumping those terminals later, if the rain ever lets up. i also replaced injector #4 as it was leaking when i first bought the truck, and it was kinda spendy so i was putting off the other 3. i’ll look into getting some more injectors on monday.

 

I loosened the cold start injector and it’s leaking no fuel, both with it jumpered and not. i just put that in and it seemed to be working, im very confused at this point.

 

You can send injectors off for cleaning and testing. That's all I ever had to do and I had over 450K miles on two of the trucks. Get a manual and troubleshoot from the manual. Jumping around will make your head spin. Systematically troubleshoot using the manual. You will be a 22RE expert afterward. Or at least know a LOT more about it. Don't give up. Walk away and take a break if you need one though.

 

Thanks for the tip! i’ll definitely look at the manual. i was cleaning out the interior and there was a lot of old junk from the previous owner in there, so i just threw everything in the bed for the time being. this weekend there was a surprise rainstorm and everything back there got soaked. i was looking through everything and i actually found a factory repair manual back there, so i have one but i’ll have to wait for it to dry haha.